Wellesley High School students Olivia Gieger and Shamus Miller as well as two Boston Latin students have helped to convince the Supreme Judicial Court that Massachusetts failed to meet a legal requirement for slashing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.

A Boston Herald report on the case brought against the Department of Environment Protection by the students as well as the Mass Energy Consumers Alliance and lawyers from the Conservation Law Foundation explains that:

They argued that the state misinterpreted the Global Warming Solutions Act — a 2008 state law that requires a 25-percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and an 80-percent reduction by 2050.

The Herald quotes Gieger as saying: “It’s so surreal. I always believed in what we were doing, so it was such an amazing moment to see the results. It’s amazing to see what effect we can have.”

The court’s decision was unanimous, and according to the Herald report, it could have ramifications for years to come.